Drinking my lunch

July 13, 2011 11:47 AM

How do I make healthy, filling juice to have as my entire lunch every day? 400-500 calories with all the protein and such that I need from lunch.

In trying to lose weight, I stopped eating pizza for lunch and started eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. So far so good--it cut out a bunch of calories, tons of fat and all that other stuff. However, it didn't replace it with much.

PB&J works for me because I can make a sandwich extremely quickly, without interrupting my routine, using ingredients that store well at work. I realized recently that perhaps I could substitute a Healthy Juice Drink for my PBJ--I could bring a bottle from home easily enough, and when I made it I would just put in 400 or 500 calories worth of stuff that was more healthy than bread, peanut butter and jelly.

Er... what stuff is that? How do I even know how many calories I'm juicing? I'm worried that if I just put a head of broccoli in my blender than I'll find that I'm missing protein and I'll fall asleep halfway through the afternoon. Or, alternatively, march off to the store and buy doughnuts until I feel full.

I've tried looking online, but it's mostly been pages about juice fasting as a toxicity remover, which is much more hard core than I'm looking at here.

posted by Squid Voltaire to Health & Fitness (18 answers total)

If this is going to be the whole meal, I'd try:

* Milk, as a base (to ensure you're actually getting enough calories)

* Whey protein powder for both flavouring and protein (try something like Milk Chocolate flavour ON "Gold Standard" Whey Protein)

* Some fruits belended in (bananas, or berries of any type would go well)

You can add up the calories of the above ingredients fairly easily. If it's too low, also considering adding something like yogurt or peanut butter. If it's too high, you can use a lower fat milk, or even water some days instead.

You'll need to make this at home with a blender.

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor or a nutritionist, and don't recommend subsisting only on my shake ingredients listed above.
posted by Diplodocus at 11:59 AM on July 13, 2011 [1 favorite]

Even if you are trading for the same number of calories, this is going to be a difficult adjustment, especially if you are used to eating whole-grain bread. The carbs in juice are super easy to digest and (the insulin generated by breaking them down) will hit your bloodstream all at once shortly after eating. Eating more complex carbs, along with the protein and fat from the PB, keeps you feeling full for longer.

I'm not saying you can't succeed or that there won't be a right answer, but in general food you have to chew and digest for a while is just metabolically different from food that's been turned to liquid before you ingest it.
posted by Ignatius J. Reilly at 11:59 AM on July 13, 2011 [1 favorite]

You can dump in a scoop or two of whey protein powder. As far as measuring the calories, you can just look up the calories of the fruit or veg that you're juicing.

As an alternative, you can look into meal replacement shakes such as Myoplex, Muscle Milk, Optimum Nutrition "Oats & Whey".

My opinion on meal replacement shakes is that they're fine as long as you're still eating about 3 square meals (real food) a day.
posted by jclovebrew at 12:00 PM on July 13, 2011

If you don't want to buy whey powder, you could use cottage cheese or greek yogurt in your smoothie - they both have a fair bit of protein.
posted by ldthomps at 12:01 PM on July 13, 2011

Best answer: I make a smoothie everyday with a banana, almond milk, frozen fruit, and spinach. It's nutritious and delicious. If I really wanted to know the calories going in, it's easy to look up online how many calories are in a banana, a cup of almond milk, etc. After measuring the ingredients out for a week or so you could probably do the pouring by site and be pretty close. This smoothie doesn't have much protein but I usually pair mine with a quarter cup of raw almonds. You could blend up almond or peanut butter directly into your smoothie, but I find it more satisfying to have something to chew. The spinach makes the smoothie look a bit ugly but it really doesn't change the taste too much.
posted by shornco at 12:03 PM on July 13, 2011 [3 favorites]

The most accurate way is to use a food scale and look up data on a nutrition data website to find out how many calories per ounce of [broccoli]. This also gives you all the normal nutrition data, such as how much of that is fat/carbs/protein. There are various recommendations for what ratio you want overall, but if you pick a middle of the road one and stay around there you should be good. (Like other people are suggesting, dairy is a good way to adjust protein and fat.)

But really, having your whole lunch be liquid is... not at all satisfying. If you make part of your lunch something like a 100-calorie baggie of goldfish crackers or a 100-calorie mini-muffin, you'll be much, much happier, and less likely to run screaming to the bakery.
posted by anaelith at 12:06 PM on July 13, 2011

Best answer: If making a smoothie is an option, I'm also a fan of throwing in chickpeas for bulk - adding some extra protein and fiber to help keep you full. Make it with tart and flavorful things like berries or nectarines, and you won't even taste the garbonzos! A lot of Middle Eastern and South Asian grocery stores sell ground chickpeas if you'd prefer it that way, otherwise you can mash up some dried chickpeas on your own, or if you're lazy like me, canned also works well.
posted by raztaj at 12:08 PM on July 13, 2011 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I have a smoothie similar to shornco's for breakfast most days - banana, plain yogurt, frozen fruit, and greens (chard or kale). I don't worry about how many calories are in it.

I don't think I could do an all-liquid lunch, though. The smoothie gets me through the morning but by noon I need something to chew on. You might want to supplement your lunch with a low-calorie, high-fiber snack like carrots or popcorn (both also easy to keep at work and fairly non-perishable).
posted by mskyle at 12:12 PM on July 13, 2011

Why are you so down on the PB&J? As long as you don't overdo the jelly or really load on the peanut butter (which is protein and healthy fat), seems like a good base to me. If you want to add more fruit or vegetables, why not just add some pieces of fruit or vegetables to the lunch? You could also look with get bread with higher fiber and protein content. If you really want a smoothie, go ahead, or mix it in for variety, but if you're happy with the taste and convenience of a sandwich, why change a good thing?
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 12:20 PM on July 13, 2011

Best answer: You'll get protein, healthy fat, a good amount of dietary fiber, a complex carb and plenty of nutrients/vitamins/antioxidants if you do this:

1 scoop protein powder - 120 cal, 25g protein
1 cup frozen berries - 70 cal, 5g fiber
1/2 avocado - 140 cal, 15g fat, 2 g fiber
1/8 cup steel cut oats, cooked - 85 cal, 2.5g fiber, 3.5g protein

+ a handful of spinach and juice of whatever vegetables you like
______________________________________________
415 calories, 15g fat, 28g protein, 11g dietary fiber

I would use water or an unsweetened veggie juice as the base, unless you want to add more calories by using milk/soy milk/yogurt. Add a tiny bit of salt to all this; it just tastes better that way.
posted by kitcat at 12:22 PM on July 13, 2011 [5 favorites]

Best answer: Just realized - avocado won't 'keep' long enough for you to prepare in the morning and save until lunch, even in a smoothie. In that case, I would use ground flax and some nut butter to make up the healthy fat portion.
posted by kitcat at 12:27 PM on July 13, 2011 [1 favorite]

Whey powder is great for supplying protein and keeping you feeling full. For breakfast, I make this smoothie that is low-carb. I use 2 scoops pure whey powder (210cals/ 50g protein), 1 cup unsweetened almond milk (60cals) and 1 tablespoon of flax oil (126 cals). This makes a very filling breakfast for 396 calories. The fat makes you feel satisfied for a long time. If you want, you can add a cup of frozen berries for 90 calories.
posted by Kitty Stardust at 12:32 PM on July 13, 2011

I find a smoothie *AND* a PB sandwich is good!

Smoothie : 8 oz milk, 1 c frozen fruit, cinnamon, vanilla powder

1 slice whole wheat bread/toast w/ 2 Tb Almond/Peanut Butter (the kind with only one ingredient - Nuts!).

Adjust amounts for your calorie desires.

protein, fruit/veg, whole grain, and plant based fat is a good combo! I have found This Book extremely helpful in finding my food balance and what really satisfies me, it is where the smoothie/PB combo comes from, I have it every morning for breakfast and keeps me satisfied for 5-6 hours.
posted by effigy at 12:34 PM on July 13, 2011

Best answer: I don't think anyone has said this yet -

IMO, all these yummy and nutritious smoothies wouldn't be very palatable after a few hours. They really need to be made fresh when you are ready to drink them.
posted by Ellemeno at 8:01 PM on July 13, 2011 [2 favorites]

I agree in that the smoothie pretty much needs to be frozen until it's time to eat. Make the night before and freeze? Or make with ice cubes in the morning and put directly into workplace freezer?
posted by kitcat at 9:16 PM on July 13, 2011

Best answer: A small vacuum flask will keep your smoothie nice and cold till lunch time, easily. I normally put some frozen berries in there to help keep it cold.

Vacuum flasks don't have to be these expensive huge clunky things that campers and roadtrippers use; I picked up a seven dollar gorgeous little stainless steel flask in my city's Chinatown; it's the sort that you see asian students drinking tea out of.

Also, low fat, Greek yoghurt makes a smoothie much more satisfying; I stay full much longer.
posted by surenoproblem at 8:18 AM on July 14, 2011

Part of satiety signaling is achieved through chewing. No shake will be as filling as the same foods eaten in their normal state. Better to bring whole foods that preserve well enough to make it to lunch - boiled eggs, almonds, fruit, jerky, pemmican.

Swapping PB&J for pizza traded saturated fat (which is arguably not much of a concern) for inflammatory omega-6 polyunsaturated fats and sugar. It retained the wheat, which is at least an area of sensitivity for a larger-than-expected fraction of the population, and possibly a direct cause of obesity.
posted by Earl the Polliwog at 6:32 PM on July 14, 2011

There's a documentary on Netflix streaming right now called "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" about a man who goes on a two month juice fast.
posted by mecran01 at 11:39 AM on October 1, 2011